


not just fate

by tintatalk



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Awkward first time sex, M/M, Soulmate AU, sesoo are chanyeol's worst and yet best friends, they just want their boy happy, who doesn't love soulmate aus?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 15:47:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10744782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tintatalk/pseuds/tintatalk
Summary: No one expects their soulmate to be the person they clumsily lose their virginity to. Having grown up with his luck, Chanyeol should’ve bet money on it.





	not just fate

**Author's Note:**

> this has been sitting in my documents for so long but I decided to finally post even if I'm not the ~happiest~ with it. I hope you guys enjoy it regardless. tell me what you think!!
> 
> (dedicated to nemo bc i'm p sure we talked about this plot-wise... although, that's what we do, with every idea haha. all my fics are dedicated to u <3)

It starts off with a look.

The scene: a haphazard mess of a dancefloor—silky fake wooden flooring and the stench of a hundred bodies squished together like sardines in a can. In a few words, a grade A college party.

Chanyeol is large, a lanky mishmash of limbs and soft hair. The largeness helps him stand out though, helps him _stand_ in the band of dancing bodies, head peaking over the top and seeing what’s beneath. There isn’t much besides the overwhelming stink of alcohol breath, maybe a dash of men’s cologne tastefully diluted by its brethren, eau de sweat. The experience is exhilarating regardless—the sweat, the alcohol, the heavy bass sending mini-shockwaves down his spine.

He’s here, at a _college_ party.  

Fresh out of high school, college freshman, fresh meat.

There isn’t much to say about Park Chanyeol, freshman. Often mistaken as part-giant and has a severe love for pets he can’t touch.

He’s moved for college though, and it’s been around six months or so since he first started his classes. It’s only now that he’s finally ready to experience the life of the young, wild and free. And that’s what he’s doing right now, in the middle of sweat-slick limbs and multi-coloured pills he’s turned a blind eye to—he’ll leave the drugs for another time, first he must experience the sex and rock’n’roll.

But it really isn’t rock’n’roll, he thinks in the midst of his jumping bob dance, just as his feet are off the ground. House music in a house, electro-synth all made in Fl Studio, or Ableton if you’re Skrillex. No fuzzy distortion pedals increasing the gain of a Gretsch, or the unmistakable twang of a whammy bar. Instead it’s blurry pad sounds and booming 808s.

So maybe he’s missed out on the drugs and the rock’n’roll, but if everything goes to plan, he’ll at least experience the sex part.

And that’s what he thinks when he eventually catches sight of a boy slightly to the left and wearing a large oversized hoodie. It’s an image that makes Chanyeol actually stop and pause in the middle of his jump-extravaganza, and he cocks his head to the side because not only is it Summer, but the middle of the dance floor makes it feel like it’s summer on _Mars_. (The assumption here being that Mars is hotter than Earth as it is closer to the sun, therefore a summer on Mars would be—)

The boy turns his head to the side, and the unreliable strobe light that has been blinking rather erratically finally proves its worth when it highlights the plains of this boy’s face. Suddenly, Chanyeol isn’t thinking of hoodies or seasons on Mars. There’s nothing but the visage of this boy right in front of him, thin lips glistening even from afar. It’s then does the boy turn, head crooking over and allowing their gazes to— _catch_.

It starts off with a look.

And it leads to a dirty bathroom with excessive lighting and fallen towels.

“Hey,” he says, rather mindlessly.

“Hi,” the boy replies with a smile, eyes crinkling into tiny moon crescents.

“I’m, um, Chanyeol.”

“Baekhyun.”

Chanyeol accidentally lands a hand on the counter and cringes when he feels a puddle of wetness seep through his fingers.

“So, um, h-how are you?”

In reality, the words come out more like “S-um, h-h-hhhowyou?” which really makes it worse but the boy, _Baekhyun_ seems to lather it all up, mouth crooking into a wide-ass smile.

“Virgin?” He asks.

“What?” Chanyeol chokes out, fingers clenching around the wet table. “I… is it that obvious?” 

“Nah,” Baekhyun says before retracting the statement, letting the word sit on his tongue and enlarging it so it sounds like it has an extra syllable or two. “ _Maybe_. It was just all your stuttering. Don’t worry, it’s cute though.”

Chanyeol chuckles, more to diffuse any awkward embarrassment than anything else, body suddenly feeling overly large and limbs especially lanky.

“I…”

“Don’t worry,” the other starts, grin wide and reassuring. He pulls at Chanyeol’s hand, taking it away from the wetness of the leaky sink, and casually linking their fingers together. Baekhyun’s hands are very long and delicate. “I’m a virgin too.”

“Oh!” Chanyeol manages to croak out with all the likeness of a slimy amphibian. He clears his throat, ignoring the sudden heat flowing to his cheeks at just how predictable he is. Tall, gangly, slightly-drunk virgin stuttering in the bathroom he’s about to fuck in, he’s the poster-boy stereotype for a college party. “Well, um…” he shakes his head because honestly, this is just getting worse and worse by the second. “I’m not usually this awkward.”

“Nah, I get it,” Baekhyun looks down at their entwined fingers and Chanyeol can’t help but let his gaze follow the other. Abstractly, he notes just how complementary their hands are—Baekhyun’s all slender and pretty while his are… not so slender and much less pretty. “I’m a bit nervous too.”

The words help to calm Chanyeol’s racing heart, or at least by a little bit, slowing the thumping to a speed less emergency ward-worthy. If anything, just knowing that he isn’t the only newbie here, not the only individual who has no idea what he’s doing in a dirty _bathroom_ of all places, makes him feel a lot better.

“I think I just… lemme…” he pulls Baekhyun forward, feeling the boy almost flop into his arms. By instinct, he manages to catch the other’s elbows, smooth skin brushing by the palms of his hands and instantly making his stomach feel all gooey on the inside.

When Baekhyun raises his gaze up, face only a few centimetres away, Chanyeol’s mouth runs despite himself.

“You’re beautiful,” he breathes out, slightly in awe.

Baekhyun’s lips quirk upwards, an incisor popping out from the side to dig into his lip. Chanyeol can’t help but be drawn towards the movement, face dropping incrementally, watching as Baekhyun’s eyes slowly flutter shut.

They kiss.

It’s nice, Chanyeol thinks a little hazy, lips pressed gently against an equally soft pair. Mindlessly, he pulls Baekhyun closer, resting his palms on the small space of his lower back and pressing his face slightly harder. _Deeper,_ is the word, he thinks, allowing their kiss to deepen, the nervousness from before bundling in his stomach and transforming into excitement.

Baekhyun reaches a hand to delve into Chanyeol’s hair, and he pulls, _hard_. It brings a whine out of the tall boy, unable to stop himself and the slight pain that grips at the top of his head. What it is, though, is _hot_ , nothing but sexual, awakening his friend down below.

When the other pulls back, his lips are glazed, eyes just as watery to match. He’s panting, chest heaving and eyelids fluttering. He takes one look down towards Chanyeol’s obvious boner and licks his lips accordingly.

“Let me take care of that.”

Not one to refuse a blowjob, Chanyeol instantly agrees. He chucks his supermarket branded jeans to the ground, not even thinking about the (most likely) _billions_ of germs that inhabit this bathroom. Baekhyun doesn’t seem to give a shit too, instantly falling to his knees and palming the soft of Chanyeol’s underwear under his palm.

It doesn’t take even ten seconds before Baekhyun has him nestled in a smooth hand, rubbing his erection and causing Chanyeol to groan. The first lick against the sensitive head has him keening, mouth opening wide in surprise. He’s been sucked before, by the one girlfriend he had in high school, but it never fails to get him almost falling to his knees.

Almost as if experimental, Baekhyun places another lick to the head, right hand wrapped around the base and keeping it steady. Before Chanyeol knows it, there’s a mouth around him, an abundance of heat, licking him, tasting him, a cavern of unadulterated wetness.

It’s hot, unbearably hot, the sight of Baekhyun taking his cock and licking around it, almost too pleasurable to watch.

He keeps it up for a few moments, before Chanyeol manages to regain control of his thoughts. At first it was amazing, but he can tell Baekhyun doesn’t do this for a living. As much as it’s wet, it’s a bit _too_ wet, slightly sloppy and not teasing enough to really get Chanyeol’s gut stirring. There’s teeth too—too much teeth, grazing the side of the head a tad too forceful and causing Chanyeol to be slightly worried that his dick may not be the same as it once was.

What it is though, is a good effort, and Chanyeol believes that with practice, Baekhyun will probably be a real champ in the act of dick sucking.

After a minute, the smaller boy lets go of Chanyeol’s cock, reaching a hand up to rub along the base of his chin.

“My jaw aches.”

With a slight laugh, Chanyeol reaches a hand out and Baekhyun takes it, immediately getting up. “That’s okay, thank you for that. Um, can we, you know, fuck?”

For the first time, even Baekhyun seems a little shocked that Chanyeol’s said it out-loud and the smaller man startles. “Of-of course!”

Chanyeol stares down at his uncovered dick for a second, and then another second, before he quickly gathers Baekhyun in his arms once again. They kiss but it isn’t the same this time, different now that Chanyeol’s dick is out and rubbing against the smaller man’s leg. It’s slightly weird, a bit awkward. But Chanyeol concludes almost immediately after that it _is_ downright hot. And so he moans, mouth dropping wide, loud panting grumbled unintelligibly into the other’s lips and hands slipping down to reach at Baekhyun’s ass.

Within a minute, Baekhyun is as equally naked as him, pants and underwear now on the dirty ground and sucking all the bacteria that’s bound to inhabit the floors. He doesn’t care though, and Chanyeol really doesn’t either when he sees Baekhyun’s cock—long and pink—next to his own. There’s a flash of black against the side of the man’s hip, and Chanyeol absentmindedly thinks about his own black squiggle, very much alike. 

“Who, do I, um, top?”

“If you know what you’re doing…” Baekhyun responds, eyes searching his.

Chanyeol blushes, reaching down to grab a condom from his pocket along with a packet of lube. “I-I’ve watched a lot of porn.”

“Well then, go ahead cowboy.”

From then on, it’s a mix of awkwardness and a rush of first-time excitement. The sight of Baekhyun bent over the sink, curve of his plump ass on display sends a flurry of lust running through Chanyeol’s spine. He’s _horny_ , and a bit impatient too when he sinks a finger in, slightly hazy. He tries to make up for that with a second finger, but his lack of experience shows when Baekhyun’s spine bristles at the movement, crooking in what seems to be pain.

“Are you okay,” Chanyeol asks, voice worried. He doesn’t want to hurt the other.

“Yeah, it’s… yeah, okay keep going.”

Chanyeol waits awhile before he slides a third finger in, adding extra lube and hoping this isn’t turning out to be a _horrible_ first-time experience. The tense line of Baekhyun’s body eventually abates, and so, Chanyeol slips his fingers out, slips on a condom and then, slips in.

The first thing he _can_ think is: hot, and then tight and hot and tight and holy fuck, this is _amazing_. But then he notices Baekhyun who is slightly rigid, whose cock has deflated slightly. Gone was the long, hard length Chanyeol remembers from before and now stays the semi-hard boner that falls against his thigh.

“Is it painful?” Chanyeol asks, hips now against the soft of Baekhyun’s ass.

“I—ugh, yeah, give me a sec,” Baekhyun groans, face pushing into the side of his bicep.

Chanyeol waits for Baekhyun to give him the go before he thrusts again, sliding his length out before pushing all the way in. It feel so fucking _good_ , and before long he’s thrusting, hard and long and fast and oh god, he think he might _cum_.

“You’re so hot,” Chanyeol groans, hands clenched around Baekhyun’s hips, his own stuttering with every thrust.

“Unngf,” Baekhyun eloquently replies, lips buried in the crook of his shoulder, groan deep.

There’s a tingle in his cock, and he knows he’s going to cum soon, _too soon_ , he thinks through the haze in his head, but it’s nothing that stops him from bucking his hips faster because, because— _because_.

Oh.

He came.

That. That was fast.

It seems like Baekhyun realises it too, head turning around when Chanyeol’s hips stop jerking erratically.

“Did you just cum?” His voice doesn’t sound bewildered, more, ‘I knew it’, but the tone still gets Chanyeol’s stomach clenching, because fuck, fuck, _fuck_ how embarrassing.

His cock is still nestled inside Baekhyun’s body, and Chanyeol gently dislodges. He came, in like a minute. _Fuck_.

Fuck.

Baekhyun is still hard.

Trying to make the most of a shitty situation is something Chanyeol is known for, and he clumsily wraps his hand around Baekhyun’s cock, inwardly cursing at the strange angle. What it manages to do however, is seize Baekhyun’s attention away from the fact that yes, Chanyeol did come in less than two minutes. It takes a little longer than two minutes before Baekhyun is spilling, hot cum dripping over the side of Chanyeol’s finger.

There’s a beat of silence as Chanyeol gently unwraps his hands and reaches over for a tissue. All he can hear are Baekhyun’s harsh sounding breaths, chest heaving unnaturally.

Oh god.

This was. He. Who.

People talk about losing their virginity to be a mentally traumatising experience, but Chanyeol didn’t think his would be. Although, he _really_ should’ve known from the very beginning. Stuttering all over the shop should’ve been the first clue that this was going to turn out bad. He usually has signs like that, if only he had listened.

He grabs the tissue and helps Baekhyun clean up, because at the very least, he’s a gentleman. Once Baekhyun is tucked neatly back into his underwear and jeans, Chanyeol clears his throat.

He doesn’t want to look into the other’s eyes. He doesn’t want to see what’s _there_.

“I… uh… I… thanks.”

And then, like the wind, Chanyeol bolts.

*~*

Chanyeol tries not to think about the experience when he arrives back home, face planting into the soft of his pillow. Mentally traumatising is the least of it, Chanyeol doesn’t think he’ll be able to leave his fucking _bed_ ever again, just in case he runs into the gorgeous man. He was too scared to hear what Baekhyun thought, too scared to even see the look on his face. That’s because he knows what look _would_ be on Baekhyun’s face, something along the lines of disappointment.

Chanyeol doesn’t want to see disappointment.

So instead, Chanyeol lies in bed, cautiously raising his head when the sun finally ticks over and deems it morning. He’s feeling somewhat better when he eventually rises, mouth stuffed with milky cereal. The good feelings eventually dissipate when he remembers just how fucking _embarrassing_ the whole experience was and he groans loud into the cereal, metal spoon sticking out of his mouth like a flagpole. Fuck.

When he eventually makes it to class, he tries to reconcile the fact that, hopefully, he’ll never see Baekhyun ever again. What is the chance that he will? Virgin experiences are meant to be awkward, but that’s what they are, _virgin_ experiences, meant to teach you the ‘To Do’s’ and well, the ‘Not To Do’s’.

Chanyeol definitely thinks he’s learnt the ‘Not To Do’s’.

He’s halfway in the middle of thinking that maybe he should forever bottom so he’ll never have to live with such shame again when Kyungsoo pops down next to him.

“I’m angry with Sehun, don’t tell him I’m going to the music rooms after class.”

“But you always go to the music rooms…” Chanyeol raises his eyebrows before he raises them even higher when he makes sense of what Kyungsoo is saying. “Wait… you’re _angry_ with Sehun? Aren’t you guys soulmates?”

Which really shouldn’t be a question because Chanyeol knows for certain that they are soulmates. He’s seen the words scribbled across their hips, a sight probably too intimate for a measly friend like him.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, and makes a ‘tsk’ sound so patronising, Chanyeol has to swallow a throat-ful of saliva. “Soulmates can fight too, Chanyeol.”

The thing about soulmates, or what’s been advertised to him, is the fact that they’re meant to be the souliest mate you can ever find. As in, your inner soul/being should immediately connect with them and there’d be no need for fighting. Ever. You’d always be on the same side, same complementary lines of thinking, same whatever. Of course, that’s just what the media and pop-culture spouts, but Chanyeol has always been one for goss and eating whatever shit online forums feed him.

Obviously, he’s figured out that at least one facet of the illustrious soulmation is not true. Kyungsoo is _mad_ at Sehun. Wow. What a complete revelation.

“What did he do?” Chanyeol asks, blinking, still trying to reconcile the fact that Kyungsoo is able to look past Sehun’s ungodly—cutesy—whining and actually get mad at him.

“We had plans for our anniversary but his childhood friend has just moved here, so Sehun said he had to help him instead,” Kyungsoo’s eyes narrow, voice practically seething. There’s a pencil in his hand, soon to be a pencil no more, Chanyeol’s sure.

“You know… this seems like something Sehun would come and complain to me about, not _you_ ,” Chanyeol shakes his head with a chuckle. Honestly, out of the two, Chanyeol expects Sehun to clamber up to him like this. He hasn’t seen it happen about Kyungsoo—yet, if this has anything to say about it—but the boyfriends Chanyeol’s observed in the past had never made it out unscathed.

“I wouldn’t usually be so pissy, but it was our anniversary. 6 months. I had a dinner and after-dinner all planned,” the smaller man says with a sigh, finally releasing the death grip on his poor pencil and releasing it back on the table. “This was Friday, I haven’t talked to him since.”

Chanyeol winces. “A whole weekend without soulmate sex. Rough.”

“Soulmate sex really isn’t as amazing as everyone makes it out to be,” Kyungsoo raises his lips with a tsk.

Out of everyone, Kyungsoo would know. There aren’t many people their age Chanyeol knows that’s met their soulmate, so these two are rare. As always, it’s all because of Chanyeol too. BFFs Chanyeol and Sehun since Sehun was _born_ and Chanyeol meeting Kyungsoo during his first class in university. It didn’t take long before he finally introduced the two, and voila, just like that, a soulmate pairing was found.

Chanyeol thinks the greeting went something along the lines of: “Kim Jongin, right?” “What? No.” “Oh, what the fuck, Chanyeol, did you tell me the wrong name _on purpose_?”

It was the next day that Kyungsoo had rung Chanyeol up, voice laden with shock and choking over the line that his mark had changed. From a black squiggle to _Kim Jongin, right?_ now newly immortalised on pale skin. When Chanyeol had pulled Sehun’s pants down, there lay the response from Kyungsoo: _What? No_ in perfect dark cursive.

Six months later, they’re finally having their first fight. Finally, in Chanyeol’s opinion—even if he didn’t realise soulmates could fight, no matter how dumb that sounds. As a couple, they are cloyingly sweet. Like a bite of salted caramel fudge mixed with a fresh stick of cotton candy. Like that, and then mixed together, aka 40 tablespoons of sugar and then some more.

Sehun hangs onto Kyungsoo and Kyungsoo smiles, and Chanyeol retches. But inwardly he smiles too, because despite everything, they are cute and Chanyeol’s happy his best friend has found his special someone. Chanyeol can only wish to find his soulmate sometime soon.

Regardless, he went off on a tangent. Oops. What was Kyungsoo talking about again? Oh. Soulmate sex.

“Are you saying it’s not rainbows and flowers and big explosions like fireworks behind your eyes?” His tone is joking, but in reality he’s half serious. The media lied about this _too_? Goddamnit, what is the media even useful for anyway.

“No,” Kyungsoo answers with a snort, elbow resting on the table. He pulls back then, shaking his head. “Well, I mean, Sehun and I match really well, but we were both shit when we found each other. That’s something only practice helped change.”

Kyungsoo’s face reverts into something to show that he isn’t thinking PG-13 thoughts anymore which makes Chanyeol suddenly think of Kyungsoo and Sehun doing very non PG-13 things and well, nope.

Just nope.

Instead Chanyeol forces himself to think about this so-called ‘not amazing soulmate sex’. Well, that’s a bit of a bummer too. Media made it seem like nothing was ever as mind-blowing as soulmate sex. Just one touch would send your mind on a wacky train to the pits of horniness, the only stop being Lust Avenue. Which really doesn’t make sense either, now that Chanyeol is really thinking about all these hard hitting topics. When he thinks about—oh God—Saturday night, he was awful. _Dreadful_. No amount of ET sexy ‘phone home’ touches will make him any better in Baekhyun’s eyes let alone the eyes of whoever his poor soulmate is.

“But yeah,” Kyungsoo speaks, bringing Chanyeol’s attention away from spidery alien fingers that glow. “If you see him, say I didn’t come to class.”

“Okay…” Chanyeol shrugs, grumbling slightly. “But don’t make me do this again, okay? I don’t want to be in the middle of your strange fighting.” He can’t choose between them both, there’s no way he’d be able to _just_ betray one and not the other.

He pauses when he remembers something strange. “Who is this friend, though? Sehun never told me he had a friend moving here?”

Especially the fact that Chanyeol has _known_ Sehun all his life. Who is this childhood friend?

“See!” Kyungsoo remarks, slightly loud for their classroom, and immediately shrinking when the lecturer sends a glare. “I mean, see, yeah, he didn’t tell me either. _That’s_ what I’m angry about. He knew it was our anniversary, he could’ve told me days, _weeks_ in advance that his friend was coming.”

“Huh…” Chanyeol shrugs, staying mute. He doesn’t help to cancel out Kyungsoo’s anger nor does he say anything else to make the small man angrier. He needs to uphold at least some decorum, he does bear the namely title of Oh Sehun’s best friend after all. “Sorry dude.”

The rest of the class passes by rather uneventfully, but for some reason Kyungsoo’s passing comment about soulmate sex really not being all it’s cracked up to be makes his head turn. It causes him to think about… Baekhyun. The fact that he was just so _bad_ and that being with his soulmate won’t even fix that.

He needs practice, but there’s no way he’s going to just pick up some random again. One time was definitely enough, there’s only so many strangers he can bang before he actually sees one of them at university. That being said, he’s only banged one stranger, one person _ever_ , so maybe he has at least a few more chances before that happens.

Regardless, how does he _practice_? God, why is he so worried about this. He has the stamina of a teenage boy but the mind of a geriatric with the way he’s needlessly mussing over everything. Sehun had bought him a fleshlight as a gag gift for his birthday, not knowing just how useful Chanyeol would find the toy. Needless to say, his _needs_ are pretty satisfied right now. Maybe not so much his stamina issues.

For some reason, he’s still mulling over the issue when he exits class, barely paying attention when Kyungsoo leaves with a slight wave. It’s only when Sehun suddenly pops up right in front of him, breathing laboured and dark circles under his eyes that Chanyeol finally pays attention to the world at large.

“Hey,” he asks, a little concerned. Honestly, Sehun looks like shit and Chanyeol has a feeling he knows why. Sending a telepathic _sorry_ to Kyungsoo, he reaches a hand out to lean on his friend’s shoulder. “You okay?”

“Do you know where Kyungsoo is?” Sehun sounds tired and Chanyeol’s heart clenches in his chest.

This is the one thing the media rambles on about soulmates that he knows _is_ true. Once the connection is realised, consistent non-interaction for negative reasons _has_ a negative impact. There’s a need to speak to your soulmate, one that goes past mental barriers and physically forces the person to do _something_. Although, three days _is_ extreme, he thought it was supposed to be like two-to-three weeks.

Hazarding a glance at Sehun, Chanyeol soundlessly snorts. Okay, yep, Sehun’s just being dramatic.

“He’s in the music rooms,” Chanyeol reveals instantly. Dramatic or not, Sehun is his best friend and Chanyeol knows Kyungsoo well enough that the other would like to make up with his boyfriend. How would they annoy Chanyeol with their sickeningly sweetness otherwise? “Don’t tell him I told you, though.”

“Thanks Chanyeol,” Sehun smiles at him, eyes raising despite the heavy bags practically dragging them down.

He’s jogging before Chanyeol has the time to even think the words ‘no worries’ and when he remembers to ask about the elusive friend of his, Sehun is already out of sight. Oh well, Chanyeol thinks with a shrug. Another day.

*~*

Chanyeol is lying across Kyungsoo’s bed, listening to Sehun and Kyungsoo complain about the finer aspects of meta barbarian builds for Diablo 3 (because apparently Sehun and Kyungsoo make up faster than Chanyeol and his neighbour. He’s killed her pot-plant with his bike nearly four times now, and to be quite fair, he’s lucky she hasn’t poisoned his nicely growing vegetable patch in response) when a loud gasp sounds from beside him.

His pants are promptly pulled down to his knees.

“Hey! What the fuck?!” Chanyeol jumps, knees pressing into the bedsheet as he hastily yanks the pair of board-shorts back up. No one is meant to be unclothed in Kyungsoo’s holy room, a rule made by Chanyeol himself after the one time he caught them very much nude. He forced the others to promise no sexy times in front of Chanyeol—or ever, really, but obviously they aren’t following that limb of the rule.

“Chanyeol! Your…” Sehun’s mouth is opened wide in what seems to be shock and he gestures towards the eldest’s bulge area with a hand. And then two. Two hands. Gesticulating. At Chanyeol’s cock.

“I’m not hard if that’s what you’re thinking,” he replies, deadpanned, unsure of what Sehun is talking about.

“No, you idiot,” he hears before he experiences a rather forceful whack to the head. There goes his daily bout of sanity. “Your _mark_.”

“My, what?” He responds, abruptly. “My—what?”

Pulling down his pants, Chanyeol’s eyes widen at the pretty cursive now indented on his hip.

_Hi_

That’s all it says. Hi. A fucking _hi_.

“What the hell.” Chanyeol whispers, eyes locked on the pretty cursive _Hi_. The ‘h’ loops to the ‘i’, the typography so beautiful, it annoys him. God fucking _damnit_. “A _hi_? That’s all it is? What the hell, how am I supposed to find them?”

All his life, he’s been waiting for his soulmate, waiting for the day he’d find them. For some reason, he had imagined a rather exciting exchange, something that would then mark his hip and help him find his soulmate quite easily. Out of everything, he wasn’t expecting something so vague, wasn’t expecting a goddamn _hi_.

He doesn’t even know when he met his soulmate, doesn’t remember the last time he looked down at his hip to assess the squiggle that used to be there. Not that he would’ve noticed the difference between the previous mark and this stupid fucking _hi_. Practically no difference at all.

“Hey, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo’s hand falls on his shoulder, the movement heavy and dragging him down. “Calm down, okay? We’ll find them. This must be recent, right? When was the last time you checked your mark?”

“I don’t know,” Chanyeol moans rather pathetically, face falling into his palms, nose squishing against the skin. “Last week? I think?”

“Okay, that’s… a long time to find for a _hi_.”

Sehun’s voice sounds strange when Chanyeol’s head is stuffed in Kyungsoo’s bedding, a muted tone that Chanyeol wishes was muted _entirely_ because he doesn’t want to be reminded of the fact that he has to find his soulmate with a simple _hi_.

He can only imagine just how many ‘hi’s he’s given to strangers in the past week, let alone the fact that he went to that party on Saturday and met a lot of new people.

“Don’t worry Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo’s hand squeezes his shoulder, voice as soothing as hot wax across his skin and making him feel the slightest bit better. “We’ll find them.”

The three of them spend the rest of the day making Chanyeol write down everyone he remembers meeting in the past week. The list starts from Wednesday the week prior because that’s the last time he remembers actively taking a peek at his mark. There’s a total of 18 people on the list, a number of girls and boys ranging from too young to way too old unless he’s gaining a significant amount of bank on a regular basis.

Purposefully, he doesn’t add—what’s his name again, oh—Baekhyun on the list. All in all it was a bad experience, and he doesn’t want to call the other up again because chances are they’re not soulmates. What kind of sick joke would destiny play on him if the boy he clumsily lost his virginity to was his soulmate? The boy he, mind you, practically _ran_ out on, embarrassment colouring his cheeks.

Yeah, nah. Not possible.

So Chanyeol sticks with the 18 new people he’s met. 18 goddamn people. For the first time in his life, he curses himself for being so outgoing.

“So!” Sehun perks up once Chanyeol’s pretty sure 18 is the number of people he’s met in the past week. “Eigh…teen… people! That’s easy. No sweat. Um, yeah.”

“Sehun,” Chanyeol groans out for the nth time, the number of names on his list is honestly more demotivating than anything else. “Please… not helping.”

Somehow, they do manage to get the ball rolling because despite the copious amount of assignments crawling onto their shoulders, Chanyeol’s wellbeing and soulmate is actually something important to all of them (Chanyeol himself, especially) and no amount of names will stop them from looking. As always, in terms of everything they do, they start with the easiest ones first.

“Hey, um, is this Wendy?” Chanyeol asks through the phone, not even ten minutes later. Kyungsoo apparently knows Wendy from their vocal class, mobile number already stored in his phone. Yeah, _this_ is the easiest out of all 18. God have mercy on his soul. “Hey, this is Chanyeol. We met last week.”

After a few minutes of chatter, Chanyeol eventually asks her to check if she has a fresh mark on her hip. He gets a no in response.

1 down, 17 to go.

*~*

Sehun and Kyungsoo are surprisingly good at lowkey recon, Chanyeol realises. So far, Chanyeol has managed to somehow acquire the numbers of 7 people he’s met in the past week and it’s all because of the duo. Honestly, he doesn’t know how they do it, doesn’t _want_ to know what kind of borderline shady shit they’re doing in order to get these numbers. He can’t be an accomplice to a crime if he doesn’t know about it, right?

It’s by the end of the 7th call, and a strange void of disappointment colouring his stomach, when Sehun pushes his long limbs up from the bed, head bobbing to the side.

“Hey guys, I have a dinner to go to.”

“A dinner?” Kyungsoo magically pops up, almost as if called by name. “Where? Who?”

Sehun shrugs on his hoodie, absentmindedly scratching at a hole near the bottom, the fabric most likely eaten away by a bug of some kind. Chanyeol remembers leaving his employee t-shirt in Sehun’s cupboard for nearly two months and receiving the same kind of treatment.

“My friend, you know the one who just moved here, just texted me, said he wants to know where the best pizza place is.”

“Your friend.” Kyungsoo’s voice drops low, practically deadly, sounding way too jealous for a simple _friend._ Honestly, knowing Kyungsoo, he’s probably still annoyed about the whole ‘getting dogged on his anniversary date thing’.

“Yeah,” Sehun nods before he turns to the real connoisseur of all things pizza. “Do you think I should take him to that chain with the amazing cheese-filling? Or would your mom be willing to give us some half-priced ones when she sees me?”

With a sigh, Chanyeol sends a glance towards Kyungsoo, noting the unhappy expression on his face. Then, he turns back to Sehun with a shrug.

“If you invite me and Kyungsoo, you’ll get it all for free.”

Sehun’s eyes widen almost comically, a clear representation of all things broke and college student. VivaPolo has singlehandedly fed the three of them for free too many times to remember.

When they’re leaving the house, Chanyeol sidles up to Kyungsoo.

“Is Sehun usually this dense? I swear that’s supposed to be you.”

“Ha, ha,” Kyungsoo punches him in the arm, putting way too much strength behind it. Chanyeol yelps. “I’m so. I wouldn’t usually be so uptight about a friend but, he’s. Who. Why hasn’t he invited me yet?”

With a sigh, Chanyeol shrugs.

“No idea.”

Sehun is very chatty on the ride to VivaPolo, finally revealing the details about this so-called childhood friend of his. Turns out they aren’t childhood friends (that’s more Sehun and Chanyeol) but family friends. Whenever Sehun visited his grandparents interstate, he’d always meet the next-door neighbour ‘Baek’.

The name sparks an unpleasant feeling in Chanyeol’s gut, remembering the last person he met that had ‘Baek’ in their name. Bad thoughts, not something he wants to think about _ever_ again.

“He’s cute though,” Sehun says, somehow managing to ignore Kyungsoo’s fire-flame eyes burning him from the backseat. Chanyeol isn’t even the recipient of the gaze and he’s already half melted from the heat. “If you hadn’t already met your soulmate, I would’ve introduced you guys. I think he’s your type, Chanyeol.”

Yeah, that’s what Chanyeol had thought about Baekhyun too. What is with all these ‘Baek’ guys?

“Do you remember when you had a crush on Kyungsoo?” Sehun snickers slightly, reaching a hand over, and not seeming to notice Kyungsoo’s fiery disposition. Chanyeol doesn’t know how Sehun’s managed to hone his selective obliviousness. The wonders of being young, he guesses. “Too bad for you~”

“Too bad for you.” Chanyeol hears Kyungsoo mutter out from the side, turning his head towards the window. Despite the teasing, Chanyeol feels somewhat sorry for Sehun. An angry Kyungsoo is synonymous for hell-on-earth.

They manage to get to VivaPolo without any visible, external injuries. Chanyeol’s pretty sure Sehun had been death-glared to dying point at least three times that whole trip, but the youngest out of them is unphased. Oblivious or has an immunity to all things Kyungsoo death glare, Chanyeol is somewhat in awe either way.

Once they enter the restaurant, Chanyeol instantly walks into the kitchen. He spots his mother, gives her a kiss on the cheek and tells her he’s here for dinner. As always, he’s given a return kiss on the head and a swat on the back.

“Tell Sehun I have his favourite for him.”

Laughing, Chanyeol exits the kitchen and pops back towards his friends. They’re standing by the entrance, Sehun engrossed in his phone and Kyungsoo with a grumpy expression colouring his face.

“At least try to look happy, okay?” Chanyeol nudges Kyungsoo with an elbow. Honestly, with the way Kyungsoo is looking, he’s pretty sure their food is going to be less appetising. Too much bad energy flowing around.

“I _am_ , but look at him,” Kyungsoo responds, whiny. He gestures his chin towards Sehun and Chanyeol rolls his eyes.

“He’s probably asking his friend where he is, please Kyungsoo. He’s your soulmate. Have a bit more faith in him.” The words come out slightly bitter, especially when he thinks back to his unknown soulmate, the one he’s forced to find with a simple _hi_.

“I know—okay. I will force myself to be happier,” Kyungsoo says with a jump, rolling his shoulders as if to say ‘new start, new me’. Chanyeol watches him shuffle over towards Sehun, and lean a head on the tall boy’s shoulder. On instinct, Sehun’s arms immediately wrap around his boyfriend’s, pulling him close in his embrace.

Chanyeol sighs. Kyungsoo looks instantly 100% better. That’s all it takes. Too easy.

“He should be here soon,” Sehun says, elbow crooked around Kyungsoo’s neck. The strange part is the fact that Sehun doesn’t even seem to realise that Kyungsoo had been so angry at him, to the point where the small man actually death-glared him for a good ten minutes in the car. What kind of oblivious super power is this and where can Chanyeol get it?

It doesn’t take long before Chanyeol suddenly hears Sehun yell the name ‘Baek!’ and when he turns around, all he feels is a punch in the gut.

Baekhyun.

Which maybe should’ve been expected, considering Chanyeol’s goddamn foul luck in this cruel world.

Baekhyun is squished in Sehun’s hug but Chanyeol knows, he _knows_ this is the man he fucked only last Saturday, running out on him minutes after. He knows, he instinctively knows it in his gut. The feelings spread through him like a fast flurry of wind, like a tornado zipping through, churning up all the previously happy emotions he had and replacing them with something sour.

The seconds before Baekhyun turns and sees him feel endless, like he’s stuck in this strange limbo, wondering how the hell he can leave before this man sees him. He can’t _do_ this. A minute of shitty fucking. And then he ran out on him.

Oh god.

Oh god.

Baekhyun turns.

Oh _god_.

“It’s you.” The other says, eyes widening.

Chanyeol’s heart flails in his chest, battering against his rib cage.

“It’s you…” Chanyeol whispers back, his head turning numb, all thoughts and emotions leaving him. He can’t think anymore. It’s him. It’s Baekhyun. He knows it. One glance into those eyes, and he knows it.

“You’re… you…” The man is speechless, mouth opening into a fish-like gasp. Nothing but surprise is on his face and Chanyeol knows why.

It isn’t just the fact that Baekhyun is seeing him again, seeing him again with Sehun of all people. No, Baekhyun is in shock because they’re _soulmates_.

Chanyeol knows the other can feel it.

Just one glance, and there it is. Now that they’ve locked eyes for the second time, he can sense the strange soulmate thread, the one he’s always told is meant to be there. It feels like it’s budding under his skin, something he’s able to touch, to prod, to even yank at if he wants to. It connects them, now and… forever.

“Chanyeol, right?” Baekhyun breathes out, the name escaping his lips as a whisper.

With a nod, Chanyeol watches as the smaller man runs a hand through his hair, eyes closing in what’s probably horror. This is the _worst_ possible outcome. All 18 people—19 actually, if he includes Baekhyun—and it _is_ Baekhyun. It’s the one he messed up with, lost his virginity, ran away, too ashamed to face the consequences.

“You guys know each other?” Comes from the side, but Chanyeol ignores it. He can’t think of anything but the fact that this man in front of him is his _soulmate_. The one he’s supposed to be with forever.

“I’m so fucking—sorry, I’m just,” Chanyeol begins to ramble, mortification washing over him like an endless wave, the perpetual tide clawing at his skull and drowning him from the inside out. He thinks he’s able to die on the spot. This is horrible. Especially the look on Baekhyun’s _face_. “I’m so… this is. I—”

“You’re still so stuttery,” Baekhyun chuckles slightly, head facing down. “I’m… very surprised, but…” he takes a deep breath in, “this was just unexpected.”

“Chanyeol?” Sehun asks from the side, standing closer towards him. He has a concerned look on his face, trying to gauge the atmosphere. “What’s going on?”

“Baekhyun’s my…” inhale, exhale, “he’s my soulmate.”

There are loud gasps from Sehun and Kyungsoo, which are entirely expected since Chanyeol didn’t even write Baekhyun’s name down on the list of possible candidates. But here they are, standing right in front of each other. Despite just how mortified he feels, he can’t help _but_ stare at Baekhyun. The bond is there now, he can feel it sizzling between them, can feel it pushing him to stare at the beautiful boy only a few metres away.

At least the media didn’t lie about this.

*~*

When they finally sit down at their table, Sehun stares at him.

“Explain.”

It’s Baekhyun who starts talking.

“We just met at that party on Saturday. The one I told you I was interested in,” Baekhyun responds from beside Sehun. “The next day I woke up with a ‘ _hey_ ’ on my hip but I didn’t know who it was from.”

That’s all he says, and Chanyeol inwardly thanks God and all other divine beings out there for Baekhyun not mentioning… the unmentionables.

Sehun hmms, and nods his head, seemingly accepting the story. Chanyeol takes a sip of his ice water, inadvertently catching Baekhyun’s eye. He can’t help the blush that spreads through his face and hopes that he won’t be like this _every_ time they meet. What a fucking joke.

“I told you we’d find them, Chanyeol.”

Kyungsoo sounds a lot happier now that Sehun’s friend apparently has a soulmate. At least one person is happy here.

“You didn’t put Baekhyun’s name on the list,” Sehun accuses from the side, eyes narrowing. He looks surprisingly suspicious, like something about Baekhyun’s story doesn’t add up. Which is surprising in itself because of how right he is. It’s not like he managed to figure out that Kyungsoo was angry at him the entire time in the car.

“I forgot about him,” Chanyeol can’t help the blush that spreads through his cheeks again. He can feel the heat under the skin, it lingers on when his memory falls back to the scene in question. God.

“Sehun,” Kyungsoo tugs at his soulmate’s hand. “Why don’t we let these two soulmates get to know each other? We can have dinner with them another time.”

“Oh no, it’s perfectly fine, guys,” Chanyeol tries to smile, gripping a metal fork in his right hand and wishing he could just stab it into the side of his neck. “Please, stay.”

Except, Sehun is already standing up, throwing his hoodie back on. And Chanyeol knows he’s doomed.

“Have a nice date,” they say just before they leave.

Chanyeol closes his eyes, and ignores the bond pulsing between them. He can feel it, like an organic presence pulling them together. He doesn’t want to face the music, but the music is already here, blaring right into his ears.

“You know, you really should thank me that I didn’t say what else happened that night,” his voice sounds angelic, like Chanyeol really should be on his knees praising the deity that is Baekhyun. And maybe he should, because he is very grateful. “You’re lucky I didn’t call you Mr. 3 Minutes and 1 Second.”

Chanyeol knows that’s supposed to be a barb to his ego, but honestly he thinks that Baekhyun is giving him more credit than he’s worth. He’s pretty sure it was like a minute tops, but that’s not something he’ll willingly tell the other. He’ll stick with three minutes and one second, that’s fine with him.

“I’m really sorry about that night,” Chanyeol apologises, raising a hand up to run through his hair. Baekhyun has an amused expression on his face and if anything, that only makes the whole thing even _worse_.

“It’s funny that we’re soulmates,” Baekhyun says, taking a sip of his water. He looks so unaffected by everything, hair perfectly styled, facial expression unguarded. If anything, he looks like he’s enjoying this, like he enjoys watching Chanyeol cringe in embarrassment. “It was a bad time, but I wasn’t expecting anything amazing.” He stops, and then sends a look towards Chanyeol. “Sorry.”

“Oh god,” Chanyeol groans into his hands. “If only I wasn’t so hasty. I could’ve taken you out on a proper date. This would’ve worked so much better.”

“At least you’re not running out on me now,” Baekhyun prods from the side, the words are spoken very light and candidly, like this is just simple dinner chatter. “You’re not going to, are you?”

“Are you not freaking out over this as much as I am?” Chanyeol demands, feeling like the whole world is on his shoulders. What kind of luck does he have? Obviously no luck, _negative_ luck even, because this is, much, much worse than horrible luck.

“What’s there to freak out over?” Baekhyun responds casually with a shrug.

“I’m trying to reconcile the fact that the boy I lost my virginity to is my soulmate,” Chanyeol mutters out, sinking further into his seat. Wishing that seats and chairs had the ability to swallow him whole. Maybe he should invest in that. God knows how often his luck turns to shit. “It was horrible, _I_ was horrible. That’s why I ran. I didn’t want to know what you thought.”

Baekhyun shrugs again. “I was saying, I wasn’t expecting it to be anything amazing. You were cute, I liked you. It wasn’t the best time I’ve ever had but it wasn’t the _absolute_ worst.”

Oh.

‘Wasn’t the _absolute_ worst’. How strange that a set of words can make him feel so good and yet so bad at the same time. But the fact that Baekhyun isn’t just outright denouncing him as a soulmate is an immediate plus, _and_ a fuck yeah. Chanyeol’s heard stories of soulmate bonds being cut, of people living in pain for the rest of their lives. When he first locked eyes with Baekhyun this evening, he was half sure that was going to be him.

In the end, Chanyeol decides to, at the very least, court Baekhyun properly. Besides the sex, they’re supposed to be compatible in every other way—and they are, it seems, when Baekhyun hints he’s a musician. Eventually, when the ice is broken, Chanyeol finds himself somewhat enjoying the time with the other.

Occasionally, he remembers just how they met—but then he throws that memory away. Baekhyun doesn’t comment about Chanyeol’s sexual prowess for the rest of the evening, not even when Chanyeol accidentally leaves a line open for ‘Mr. 3 Minutes and 1 Second’.

By the end of the date, he should’ve known things went too well, because when he leans forward for a good night kiss, Baekhyun leans back.

“I’m sorry. I can’t stop remembering… the other night. Give me awhile?”

“O-oh!” Chanyeol blinks, standing up to his full height. That’s… um, well, that hurts. Kind of. But should’ve been expected really. “Good night.”

Baekhyun smiles at him, and it’s something a little too beautiful for Chanyeol’s poor eyes. When he reaches home, the image of Baekhyun burns holes through his retina.

*~*

Baekhyun doesn’t call him back.

It’s strange because Chanyeol knows they hit it off. He knows they had a good time together that evening, eating and talking and laughing. But apparently not even a good time can cancel out a horrendous time. He should’ve known.

What hurts is the fact that Baekhyun isn’t even bothering to contact him. He was probably taken off guard the moment he saw Chanyeol, shocked to the very core when he found out they were soulmates. He hasn’t denounced Chanyeol as his soulmate, not yet, the bond is still there, material enough that Chanyeol can feel it, sizzling under the surface.

He knows that they have around two weeks before the bond starts acting up and forces them to make contact. In the interim, there is no contact at all. Sehun and Kyungsoo ask him about Baekhyun but there is nothing he can tell them. Chanyeol doesn’t _want_ to tell them that he lost his virginity to Baekhyun, that he was such a bad fuck, the other deemed him unworthy of the title of soulmate.

What a story. Such a bad fuck, your soulmate left you.

The thought stays with him when Baekhyun finally calls him up, two and a half weeks since they went on that date.

But the only thing he says is one word.

“Hi.”

“Hey,” Chanyeol responds.

The call ends.

This goes on for awhile, and Chanyeol hurts. He knows why Baekhyun doesn’t want to see him. He had a bad experience, and he isn’t willing to change that. For now, their bond isn’t acting up. They can say a simple ‘hi’ to each other, and it should be fine. But the thought makes Chanyeol feel lonely. Their soulmate bond hasn’t be denounced, but he knows it’s only time.

Surely, a relationship goes past sex though. Right? Why doesn’t Baekhyun want to speak with him _at_ all?

It causes Chanyeol’s head to run for a loop, because the guy seemed nice. He seemed kind and funny and someone that Chanyeol actually would like to spend a significant amount of time with.

And yet, Baekhyun doesn’t even want to hear more than a ‘hey’, more than a ‘good morning’. That fucking sucks.

It’s because of this, because of stress, and because of the fact that Chanyeol is slowly being driven to desperation that he makes it his mission to actually be a good fuck. Sure, his first time was bad but he will prove to Baekhyun that he is worthy of the soulmate title.

Once Chanyeol makes this his goal, he doesn’t know what to do.

As much as he wants to be a good fuck, he doesn’t really know where to start. Chanyeol finds himself going to the internet and reading articles on ‘how to enhance your love life’. This is something he decides to commit to, because once every two week ‘hi’s are not enough. If anything, they’re making him _miserable_. He doesn’t know Baekhyun as a person, doesn’t have the emotional connection to miss him, but he misses what they could be. They’re soulmates. They’re supposed to be the best possible suited person for each other.

So if it’s Chanyeol’s fault they’re not together, then Chanyeol will fix that issue.

Like everything he does, he’s meticulous in his researching. He spends time tracing his own body, learning what he likes, learning what he can do with a variety of toys, before he spends even more time reading articles of peoples’ experiences online. Mostly everything is extremely graphic, but it comes to a point where he finds himself desensitised to even the most erotic of stories.

It takes awhile—not just days, but weeks. He buys toys, he asks questions on online forums, and then he goes and talks to Sehun and Kyungsoo. About what _they_ like.

“Sehun loves it when I talk dirty to him,” Kyungsoo reveals casually, like they’re talking about Sehun’s favourite kind of coffee.

Chanyeol watches as Sehun blushes, like this was a terrible idea and then some. It probably is, but Chanyeol is no quitter.

“He likes roleplaying as well, roleplaying with toys especially.”

“So, why do you want to know about our sex lives again?” Sehun interrupts when it seems like he’s sufficiently embarrassed.

“I’m…” Chanyeol lets the word sit on his tongue as he thinks about what to tell his friends. “… exploring my kinks.”

“Oh!” Sehun blinks, and suddenly his expression changes from embarrassed to lascivious. “Well, you came to the right place.”

The tall boy then falls into conversation about his favourite toys, what Chanyeol would like and the ins and outs on easing kinks into the bedroom. He then asks about Baekhyun.

“Yeah, still not working out,” Chanyeol replies with a shrug.

Sehun sends him a concerned look. “I’ll have a talk with him.”

“Don’t bother, it’s okay Sehun. I’ll confront him eventually.”

And he will.

And he does.

*~*

He confronts Baekhyun a week later.

It’s been around a month since their date, or what Chanyeol likes to call _The Realisation_ , and since then, he’s been researching. After copious amounts of exploration, navigation and practice, he thinks he’s ready to seduce the other again. Hopefully this time he’ll last a lot longer than a mere minute in a dirty bathroom.

What he does before he calls Baekhyun up is neatly groom himself. In all ways. He wants to present himself as something worthy of Baekhyun’s affections, unlike what he was in the past. So what he does is put on his nicest pair of semi-casual clothing—a light blue dress shirt and fitted pants. He styles his hair, pushes it up to reveal his forehead, and sprays a hint of cologne in all the right places.

The clothes are kind of like a costume, like the one barrier hiding the real Chanyeol underneath. As a costume though, it allows him to fall into this suave persona that he’s managed to build up, kind of like Sehun and Kyungsoo’s roleplay. It matches with his deep voice and nicely swept back hair, allows him to feel like he can do this.

His soulmate can’t reject him this time.

When he calls Baekhyun, not even nerves disrupt his countenance.

“Chanyeol?”

“Hi Baekhyun,” his voice lowers, deep and silky, the words curling on his tongue. “Dinner tonight?”

“I… what… you want to go for dinner tonight?” Baekhyun sounds confused, probably surprised that Chanyeol is calling him after a month of silence.

“I have a reservation, join me?” He keeps his words deep and yet light, making sure not to force himself on the other. The nervousness from before is gone, having dissolved into his persona. He can do this.

“I… well… okay.”

The call ends soon after Chanyeol gives Baekhyun the address. When he presses the end call button, a sigh escapes him. Okay, acting all debonair really takes a toll on him, especially when in reality, he is nothing like that. There is no suave, sophisticated Chanyeol, only stuttery Chanyeol that Baekhyun has unfortunately met before.

No, he can do this.

Except, everything feels like it’s been put into hyperdrive, like after weeks of planning and getting to know himself, this is the final battle. What happens tonight will define Chanyeol’s _future_. This is his soulmate he’s talking about, the soulmate who will either finally accept him despite how they first met, or reject him as consistently as he has done so for the past month. It’s the make it or break it chance of a lifetime. Chanyeol doesn’t know how he feels about that.

Regardless, there is nothing else he can do. He’s lucky that Baekhyun is giving him the time of day to accept his date request. He doesn’t need to. And so, Chanyeol _must_ make an impression. There are things in life that are imperative. This is more than that. This is Chanyeol’s future.

But is it, he starts to think when he eventually reaches the restaurant, suddenly feeling unsure now that he’s on the line. Here Chanyeol is, dressed to the nines, tailored suit adjusted at the seams to hug at the curve of his ankles, the most expensive pair of cufflinks attacking the material around his wrists. He’s gone above and beyond, has learnt the wants and needs of his body just for the man he’s going to meet.

Pausing by the door, Chanyeol rests an arm on a pillar. He needs to stop and compartmentalise his thoughts. He’s done this for his soulmate, he’s done _so much_ for his soulmate who obviously doesn’t think he’s worthy of the title. That’s why he hasn’t called, right? Why he hasn't called for more than just a simple ‘hi’?

When he thinks about the gravity of what he’s done _just_ to gain the attention of his soulmate, well. What kind of soulmate is this? Aren’t soulmates supposed to accept you for who you are, not leave you wondering where you stand? Not leave you wondering if what you’ve done, all for them, is worth a second date?  

Playing with the hem of his sleeve, Chanyeol wonders why he’s done this. And without looking back in the slightest. Sure, the way they met was… unconventional, but is this _repentance_? They clicked, obviously, during their last date. But that wasn’t good enough for Baekhyun.

A loud ‘ahem’ brings his attention towards the outer world, and finally for the first time in a month, Chanyeol locks eyes with his soulmate.

To his racing heartbeat’s pleasure, the man in front of him is dressed stylishly in flawless date clothing, a dress shirt and fitted pants to boot. He’s cut his hair shorter since the last they met, brown-blonde locks glinting under the restaurant’s outer lights, framing the corners of his eyes. It’s a shock seeing Baekhyun again in person, not having reconciled the fact in his head that they are on a date. Again.

“Hi Chanyeol,” Baekhyun speaks, eyes slightly soft.

It throws the taller man’s head for a loop because the other doesn’t even look the slightest bit indignant that he’s practically forced to be here. The same confidence that he’s always had radiates through the smaller man, chest raised high and emotions in control. He’s different now though, softer, like he is able to read Chanyeol through and through, in and out.

Unlike what Chanyeol had promised, the somewhat cold and aloof tendencies he’s tried to hone—because that’s what all the boys _like_ , right?—he can’t do it. He can’t stand here in front of his soulmate and try to act confident when said confidence is crumbling in between his fingers.

“Hi Baekhyun,” he replies, dropping his gaze with a sigh.

“Would you like to go inside?” Baekhyun asks, nodding towards the door of the restaurant. It’s a fancy place complete with a price-tag that usually doesn’t go hand in hand with Chanyeol’s current bank account. But he was meant to _impress_ Baekhyun. Something he doesn’t think he’s doing currently.

Chanyeol nods, and motions for the other to walk in first. He can still feel their bond under the surface, now that they’re close and in person. It’s something that ripples, probably because of their close proximity. They haven’t been this close for an entire month—if not Chanyeol, at least the bond is happy.

They are taken to their reserved table, water poured in large glasses the instant they are seated. Chanyeol takes a deep breath, a rush of nerves and nausea flowing through him, much in the same way he watches the water swirl in his glass. He shouldn’t second guess himself like this, not when he’s already nervous.

Except now he’s doubting whether he wants to go through with this, because despite Baekhyun’s soft eyes, this man doesn’t really want him. Why does Chanyeol need to change _for_ him?

“How have you been?” Baekhyun asks with a sip of his water, the same casual gracefulness that he always has. This time though, it ignites something within Chanyeol. Sets something off. He’s… irritated.

“Can we cut the shit?” Chanyeol leans forward, the same nerves in his chest still there, just, dampened.

Baekhyun’s eyes widen minutely, a flash of surprise running over his face. He opens his mouth, and then closes it just as fast, eyes blinking.

“Excuse me?” Baekhyun cocks his head to the side, eyebrows furrowing inwardly and casting a look of confusion on his face. Their bond pulses strangely.

Chanyeol takes Baekhyun’s confusion and bolsters up the courage to speak out. He’s usually chatty, very talkative at the worst of times. But what he’s bad at is confrontation, especially confrontation with his soulmate.

“You’ve been ignoring me. I messaged you after our date, and you never responded. You call me just to say hi, _just_ to appease our bond.”

 The words come out slightly hurried, but Chanyeol knows they have a poignant effect when Baekhyun looks flabbergasted, mouth open wide and gaping.

“Do you know what I’ve been doing? I’ve been trying to _change_ myself. Obviously our first… time left an impression on you, and obviously you don’t want me because of it. So I’ve been bettering myself, I’ve been working through what I like. And as much as I’ve changed, probably for the better, I’m still worried. Still worried that you’ll find these changes unsatisfactory, that they’re not _good_ enough for you.

“I’m worried that you’ll look at me, and deem me unworthy. And force me to live a soulmate-less life.”

Chanyeol knows his voice is deep, but this time, he knows it comes off as deeper than usual—husky and rough. The cadence of his words isn’t as melodious as he would like it to be, rushed and hurried, but the effect is there. Baekhyun is struck for words, glass of water, untouched.

“I—I…” Baekhyun shakes his head, eyebrows still crossed and furrowed. “I _never_ told you to do anything. Why are you blaming me for shit you’ve done and obviously don’t like?”

Not expecting such a response, Chanyeol falters.

“I—”

“You invite me here, _assuming_ things. Assuming a _lot_ of things,” Baekhyun bites his lip, head jutting out and looking a lot more serious now that Chanyeol’s accused him. “And then you blame me for doing things yourself when I didn’t tell you to do _anything_?”

“I—I—” Chanyeol shakes his head. This isn’t where he thought this was going. And what is Baekhyun saying? What he’s done is _for_ Baekhyun, doesn’t he get that?

“I tried doing things _for_ you. I was worried that you weren’t going to choose me if I didn’t do them!” Chanyeol returns, surprised. He shakes his head twice. “I don’t want to live a soulmate-less life.”

Baekhyun throws his body back into the chair and shakes his head. “A soulmate-less life? Please, like that’s supposed to be any boundary on you. Not to mention the fact that you can’t do things you don’t like, seemingly thinking it’s the only way to get me to choose you and then _blame_ me afterwards. Newsflash, I didn’t order you to do anything.”

“Then why haven’t you called me,” Chanyeol butts in, words suddenly weak. Weaker than before. “Why haven’t you been calling me? Why are we forced to only a few words? What kind of relationship is that?”

Baekhyun sighs, and picks up his glass. After taking a sip, he sighs once more.

“This is going to sound ridiculous, but it’s not you, okay. Whatever you’ve done to so call, ‘better’ yourself,” he puts two fingers up just as he says the word _better_ , “it’s not because of you that I haven’t been keeping in contact.”

What?

It’s not because of their first time that Baekhyun hasn’t been calling?

“What? Then… then why haven’t you been messaging me? Baekhyun, we’re _soulmates_.” Chanyeol speaks, voice yearning, heart _aching_. 

Baekhyun’s lips droop downwards, eyes following soon after. “That’s exactly it.”

Chanyeol shakes his head, not understanding.

“I hate the idea of soulmates,” Baekhyun clucks his tongue, letting out a sigh. He sounds burdened even by the idea of a soulmate. “I hate that we’re forced to be with someone for the rest of our life, unable to pick and choose.”

Staying silent, Chanyeol links his shaky fingers together. What Baekhyun’s saying isn’t something he’s ever worried about, the idea of soulmates something ingrained in him. Something romantic. He likes the thought of being bound to a special someone, that there is a person out there right for you in _every_ aspect.

But as he watches Baekhyun curl his lips around words he doesn’t seem to like (and Chanyeol can _finally_ see that dislike, especially as the smaller man spits out the word _soulmate_ ) he realises that it’s not the same for everyone.

“Why are we forced together?” Baekhyun asks, voice hardening. “Because we looked at each other once? That’s how it is normally. They look, and then they’re suddenly tied down to a person. I don’t want that. What if I had a lover, a family? Am I supposed to leave them on the spot?”

These are hard-hitting questions, Chanyeol admits. And what he also admits is the fact that he doesn’t know how to respond to them. Or at least, respond to them without being callous. He understands what Baekhyun is saying but this is life, this is biology, he… it’s just the way it’s meant to be.

But even that sounds horrible coming off his tongue, especially if he’s aiming it towards Baekhyun who looks so fervently heated by the topic.

“I’m sorry Chanyeol, I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but. I hate soulmates. Ever since I was a kid. To me, it’s limiting. Like I’m forced to do this because of some strange voodoo magic. I don’t want _to_ be tied down because of this bond.”

The words end on a hard note, Baekhyun’s voice just as steely. Chanyeol watches as the other lets out a sigh and runs a hand through his fluffy hair.

It’s strange how Chanyeol came here with a prior agenda, with a very fucking _dumb_ prior agenda now that he thinks about it. He can’t believe he’s done what he’s done. Can’t believe that he’s studied sex, _sex_ of all fucking things, with misplaced intentions, believing it was to woo this man in front of him. Now he’s experiencing Baekhyun’s life-story, the man's fears and worries all revealed, and yet Chanyeol had thought this had everything to do with sex.

Wow, he feels so fucking dumb.

“I’m really sorry you feel that way,” Chanyeol begins, slow. He thinks through his words, ignoring Baekhyun’s firm gaze. The bond seems to pulse with the heat of the other’s stare. “I’ve never thought about soulmates in the way you do. I always imagined them as being a very special thing, that if you found them, you’re finding someone who will be very important to you. It’s meant to be, it’s fate. Destiny.”

“That’s the thing though,” Baekhyun butts in, shaking his head. “I want to be able to find that on my own. I don’t want to be forced because I saw you once at a party.”

Cheeks heating up, Chanyeol opens his mouth to respond. And then closes it. He doesn’t know how to respond.

“You’re not forced to,” he eventually starts, letting the words come from his heart rather than shoving them through his brain-to-mouth filter. “You really aren’t. I’m sorry if I made it seem that way. I’ve just always had a very fond view of soulmates, knowing that I would gain someone very important to me. I’m sorry if you don’t feel the same way, and I’m sorry for confronting you like this.”

Chanyeol stares into Baekhyun’s eyes as he says this, watches as the molten brown irises swirl under the light.

“Although,” he begins once again, an ache travelling through his chest. “You really should have told me this. What you did really hurt me, you know. Cutting off all contact like that.”

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun apologises, face crinkling up. “Fuck, I am sorry. I really should have told you how I felt about this stuff. I didn’t mean to intentionally make you feel bad.”

“Yeah, I just. I had no idea what was going on. Why my soulmate hated me so much. I thought it was because of our first time, that you inwardly had horrible feelings for me because of it.” It’s come to a point where Chanyeol doesn’t cringe when he thinks back to when they first met. It’s progress, and he thinks it’s good progress when he sees Baekhyun’s eyes soften again.

“It wasn’t because of that, please don’t think that.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol nods, simply. Now that he knows for sure, he won’t think about it ever again. A few seconds pass and he speaks, once more. “Does that mean because of this soulmate thing, you won’t consider dating me. Ever?”

Baekhyun’s silent for a few moments, before he shakes his head. “No, I… I’m still not sure about this whole soulmate thing but I do like your personality Chanyeol. You’re really funny.”

Oh. His heart flutters slightly.

“And I think even if this soulmate thing wasn’t a whole issue, I would’ve asked you out anyway.”

“Even after the whole first time sex thing?” Chanyeol is proud of himself when he doesn’t deflate inwardly.

Baekhyun laughs. “Well, maybe not then.” Chanyeol’s expression drops and the smaller man quickly makes way to correct himself. “Hey! I didn’t know your personality back then.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol accepts, warmth spreading through his chest. And because he feels happy, he smiles, a wide grin that envelops his face and pulls his lips apart. He hasn’t smiled like this around Baekhyun before, and when the other stares at him, mouth dropping into his own grin, Chanyeol feels happy.

Maybe they have a chance after all. Chanyeol would love to help change Baekhyun’s mind.

*~*

It’s funny, this whole soulmate thing. Chanyeol didn’t realise how accurate the media would be.

Baekhyun is _amazing_. Once they cleared up everything between them, and Chanyeol isn’t embarrassed to hell and back, he finds himself entranced. Baekhyun is literally everything he never knew he was missing in his life, suddenly there in all the gaps Chanyeol never knew he had. They become fast friends, and even faster best friends. Sehun starts whining about how he’s pushed to the side and Chanyeol can’t help but laugh in awe because of how lucky he is. He has _two_ best friends.

They play games, they spend time together, and they _laugh_. Oh, the way they laugh. Chanyeol’s voice is loud and booming and yet Baekhyun’s is as equally poignant. It’s kind of annoying actually, Chanyeol thinks, a tad grating on his ears. But Chanyeol adores it.

He adores Baekhyun.

Chanyeol doesn’t show it though, not wanting to push the other away. He knows how Baekhyun feels about soulmates, and as much as he really does adore the other, he won’t try anything. Friendship is enough for him. It is.

Really.

But at times, he finds himself staring longily at Baekhyun, eyes greedily crawling up the other’s toned figure. Chanyeol forces his gaze away whenever he realises, but it’s there. Under the surface.

One day, two months later, Baekhyun kisses him. All of Chanyeol’s dreams come true. Baekhyun confesses, Chanyeol confesses, Sehun nearly cries in happiness. Chanyeol’s never felt so happy before, and he grabs the other in his arms and twirls him around.

It doesn’t take long before they become sexually active again and finally, Chanyeol puts his practice into use. He works himself open just for Baekhyun, bewitching the other on the spot. The talkative man is made silent once Chanyeol begins his seduction. The sex itself isn’t amazing, but it’s nice. Kind of like an upgraded first time. Chanyeol isn’t hard the whole way and he does need Baekhyun to jerk him off afterwards, but it’s progress.

Kyungsoo did say soulmate sex got better with practice. And if Baekhyun’s wide grin is telling enough, Chanyeol thinks they’re going to be practicing a whole lot.

*~*

The bed sheet is soft against Chanyeol’s thighs, warm sunlight gently caressing the cool of his skin. He can feel himself waking up, body feeling thick and lethargic. The next thing he notices is the bond, pulsing happily, and Chanyeol throws an arm over the covers to engulf Baekhyun.

“Mnphf,” the man mutters into the pillow, naked back now pressed into Chanyeol’s chest.

The younger man sleepily trails his fingers down the curve of Baekhyun’s spine, crossing over his waist before heading towards the other’s hip. He caresses the curled word that lays there, a symbol of their bond, of what brought them together.

Baekhyun’s feelings about soulmates are changing. Slowly. Chanyeol can see it. He still bristles slightly whenever they’re mentioned, but the bad feelings are waning. Chanyeol will help change his feelings.

“Morning,” Baekhyun breathes out, voice husky and sleep-addled. His face is still turned towards the other side, and Chanyeol continues to draw lazy patterns over his mark.

“Good morning,” Chanyeol plants a kiss on the groove of Baekhyun’s neck and shoulder. He feels the other shiver slightly and grins. Moving his fingers away from Baekhyun’s hip, he stops when the other reaches an arm out to put it back. “Hmm?”

“I kind of… like the feeling of our bond when you touch me there,” Baekhyun admits, shy. He holds Chanyeol’s large palm against his hip. “It’s really… nice.”

Yeah, Chanyeol thinks as he places another kiss on the crook of Baekhyun’s shoulder, he’ll help change Baekhyun’s feelings after all.

**Author's Note:**

> come talk to me about baekyeol!! @tintatalk :-)


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